“Give us this day our daily bread” Matthew 6:11. With many of our refrigerators filled with enough food to take us through today, and next week or maybe even next month, the temptation of many Christians might be to pray this more as a cliché than as a sincere petition. I certainly hope we have not come to the point in our “food rich” culture of thinking that the food we have is anything less than God’s grace. Paul reminds us, “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” 1 Corinthians 4:7. Just because we no longer live in an agrarian society where a day’s wage bought a day’s food, does not mean God is still not the graceful provider of all that we have.

In teaching us to pray for God’s daily provision, Jesus is teaching us to not only recognize God’s glory, but also God’s grace. Food is one of the most basic needs for survival. Only God can sustain life, not our hard work. Contrary to popular belief, we are not in control of our food supply. Just as God provided manna in the wilderness, he provides us with all the food that we take for granted every day. So often I catch myself thanking God for food before a meal merely out of habit or some ritualistic obligation. That should never be the case. Every meal is truly a gift from a loving God. Every meal is an opportunity to praise him and thank him for his goodness and blessing. What a great and gracious God we serve!

The petition for daily food should also remind us that food alone is not sufficient for a full life. Jesus recognized this truth well when he answered the temptation of the devil, quoting, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” Matthew 4:4. My sincere desire for all of us is that when we open God’s Word, whether on a Sunday morning or in our private devotional times, that it will truly be a spiritual feast. We need the nourishing milk of the Word along with the substantial meat of the Word. Oak Crest family, let us be very careful to remember: if our tummys are fat with good food, but our minds and hearts are empty of God’s word, we are malnourished indeed.